Domesticated animals, including felines, ferrets, chinchillas, small canines and other small pets often use an indoor pet waste receptacle, e.g. a litter box, as a bathroom. Unfortunately, once these conventional pet waste receptacles become soiled, there is little pet owners can do to mitigate the odor associated therewith or prevent waste or other undesirable receptacle contents from spilling out. These issues are compounded by the fact that conventional pet waste receptacles are generally not designed to inform pet owners that a pet waste receptacle has been soiled.
Also, conventional pet waste receptacles often include a door made of hard plastic which is opaque and limits or prevents light from entering the housing cavity. In addition, the movement of these hard plastic doors is difficult to control and can lead to injury. As such, a training period is often required to acclimate a pet to using these doors. And, some pets will not use the door as they do not expend the effort required to move it from a closed position to an open position or vice versa. Sometimes this is all that is needed for a finicky pet to refuse to enter/use the pet waste receptacle. Moreover, it is not uncommon for these hard plastic doors to break after a period of time.
As such, there remains a need for apparatus that alert pet owners when a pet waste receptacle has been soiled, while also reducing or eliminating the odor caused by pet excrement and preventing spillage of receptacle contents. The apparatus should also stand the test of time and encourage rather than discourage usage by pets. Embodiments of the present invention are designed to meet these and other needs.